


Puyo of the Wild

by mitzi_uwu_trash



Category: Puyo Puyo (Video Games)
Genre: Draco in forests, Gen, Klug loses it, Maguro attempts kendama murder, RAWR!!!, Raffina actually matters this time, Schezo repeatly misunderstands words, help why did I add so many characters akjdhf;lasdfkj;, i don’t know how to write chapters, insecure Raffina, plot I guess?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2019-11-24 18:05:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18168395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitzi_uwu_trash/pseuds/mitzi_uwu_trash
Summary: The insecure Raffina was just another average student at Primp Magic school. She just went to class and did her work the same way every day with the same boredom. That all started to change one day after school.Note: Schezo messes up his words in a sort of innuendo way like Puyo Tetris so yeah, look out for that if that isn't cool beans with you.





	1. School of Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raffina is just going to school like she does every day. She starts to notice something off about Klug. Her suspicions are confirmed as Klug throws her into danger for some mysterious reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am honestly not sure if I should be posting a part of a story this mediocre, but whatever, I hope someone gets a kick out of this.

The clock ticked in the wall. It almost felt as if it ticked in Raffina’s head. It was another average, dull day at Primp Town magic school. Ms. Accord, Raffina’s teacher, was in the midst of a lecture on the function of magic-enhancing items as Raffina’s tired mind began to drift away deep into thought and fantasy. She knew school was going to continue on in this endless tedium, and her grade would remain at a failing point because of her reliance on her pouch. Raffina’s mind got stuck on the consequences of that failure, the reaction of her parents to a bad report card, and the shallow, sad mess staring her back in the mirror once break started.

The loud school bell cut into her wandering mind. The students in the class rose out of their seats and flooded the hallways. Lunch was about to start, but Raffina felt almost no motivation to get out of her chair. She eventually felt slight hunger, so she rushed to her locker to put away her books. She nabbed her fancy lunchbox and headed to the outdoor eating area. She sat near Amitie and Lidelle. She bragged and chatted with her acquaintances. She couldn’t quite call them friends, for she couldn’t even mention her feelings. Every chance she got to say she outdid Amitie, her personal rival, she did. She giggled and cheered with her friends, yet felt empty and shallow. It was quite a strange feeling. Though, it was normal for her to feel detached like this.

Klug stood in the recess field. He didn’t have his metal lunchbox with him like he normally did. Something about Klug just seemed off to Raffina today. He gave off an eerie, ominous air, and it seemed Raffina wasn’t the only one who noticed. Lidelle walked over to Klug nervously.

“Uh, h-hi Klug,” Lidelle muttered in a soft voice. “Are you a-alright?”

Klug just distantly stared at Lidelle. It did not appear like Klug processed a word Lidelle said. He seemed even more distant than Raffina was in lectures. Klug slowly realized Lidelle was talking to him. He tried to manage a coherent response, but the words just slipped away from his tongue like butterflies fluttering on a sunny, spring day. Klug’s dead expression in his eyes and silent incoherence in his mouth unnerved Raffina and her acquaintances.

Over the rest of the class periods, something just seemed off about Klug. Everyone wondered why he wasn’t his rushed wreck of a self. Raffina had a feeling Klug had fallen into a deep sadness, but there was something not quite accurate with that conclusion either.

As the students walked out of the school building at the end of the day, Klug began to stalk Raffina. Suddenly, he yelled at Raffina for being such a snobby jerk with tears streaming down from his frustrated and tired looking eyes. He was angry, harsh, and sad, unlike his normal self. He shoved Raffina down in anger and despair, and grabbed the collar of her shirt. She saw strange looking Puyo crowding around Klug’s head. The Puyo started to clump together, and at that moment, Raffina knew she was only at the beginning of a whole new world of hurt.


	2. Forest of Fake Serenity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dealing with Klug’s vicious attack, Raffina teams up with Amitie and Lidelle to go search the forest near Primp Town for an explanation for what happened to Klug. However, the quiet, peaceful forest in the summer’s light may not be peaceful for long...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi yes I am slow with chapters and do not know how to write fight scenes.. sorry.

Klug began setting up a chain with foggy looking Puyo as Raffina attempted to pull Klug’s hand away from her shirt collar. She eventually managed to kick his hand off her collar and leapt to her feet. Her tired eyes met Klug’s dull and sad eyes, but he did not appear to notice her gaze. Raffina quickly managed a chain to counter the one Klug set up. However, her counter wasn’t complete, so she felt a wave of negative emotion hit her like a kick in the stomach. She wondered how this could occur in a normal Puyo battle. How could she feel so unsettled if she never exchanged a word with Klug, and Klug only yelled at her, not talked to her? Her curiosity got another wave of ominous insecurity to pierce its way into her head. She activated her pouch and began to stack up a large chain in hopes of calming Klug down. The nuisance continued to fall and get in her way. It rained down slowly like a sun shower on a spring day. It was overwhelming to her. It was crushing. It was a battle she felt she could never win her broken defeated state. She was… hopeless… or so it felt…

Amitie and Lidelle quickly set off some small chains to help Raffina out after seeing the danger she was thrown into. Klug jumped back, startled by the sudden nuisance that was sent his way. With Klug weakened, Raffina’s was able to use a short chain in combination with her acquaintances’ ones to defeat Klug.

Klug rubbed his head with a confused look on his face. He slouched over and took a quick look around him, wondering why a crowd of students was surrounding him. Ms. Accord rushed outside after hearing about a fight breaking out amongst the students. She walked up to Klug while glaring at him.

“I cannot believe my best student would attack one his own classmates!” Ms. Accord exclaimed in frustration. “Really, WHAT NERVE!!”

Klug just scratched his head, appearing like he was not entirely sure what she meant. Raffina honestly didn’t understand why he thought playing dumb was a good idea. Ms. Accord had could see through her student’s lies like how an x-ray saw through the human flesh down to the bones.

“Attack? What are you talking about?” Klug wondered. “I just was on my way to school and…”  
He paused for a second; though, that second felt like an hour to the curious students and teacher.  
“And what?” Ms. Accord asked in a firm voice. “What could you possibly have done to excuse that kind of action?”  
“I swear, I didn’t do anything!!” Klug shouted. “All I remember after that is waking up near Raffina a couple minutes ago! And my grades can attest to my memory being so good that this wouldn’t just happen normally! Something must have happened!”  
“Alright then, Klug. If you really didn’t know what you were doing, then the guilt from your actions shall not be on your shoulders. There must have been something that caused this irrational behavior in Klug.” 

Ms. Accord turned to the crowd of students who just witnessed the fight between Raffina and Klug. She told the students that whoever is bravest and strongest among them should go search for the cause of Klug’s actions. When no prize was offered for doing so, the only students who still wanted to help were Amitie, Raffina, and Lidelle. They took the quest, though danger was certainly regular on this path. 

The group packed up some food, water, and a lighter in case it was necessary. They sat down with Klug to discuss what happened to him. After some discussion, Raffina was eventually able to point everyone in a direction after describing Puyo that appeared dull colored and sharp. Raffina’s group eventually decided to scout out in the forest near Primp Town. The group headed out from the school, with Amitie leading the way.

Raffina could hear the peaceful sounds of the nature in the forest as the leaves crunched under her feet. Magnificent, tall trees with bright green leaves surrounded the group as they slowly paced through the woods. It was difficult to focus on her mission when Raffina was surrounded by the soothing tranquil of nature. She felt her mind wander into a deep reflection about everything around her. She wondered why Klug had gone loose, why she’d gone on this quest, and why she hadn’t been affected by what took a hold on Klug. At a second thought, her desire to maintain her superiority was something she often followed, but not today for some reason. It was so unusual for her not to be even concerned with Amitie’s place compared to hers. Perhaps the calm of nature had reached her mind…

Lidelle nudged Amitie and Raffina on the shoulder. She pointed to a shrub in the distance. Something clearly made Lidelle think there was a being there.

“I saw the b-bush m-move a lot over th-there,” Lidelle murmured.

Raffina and the group looked in the direction Lidelle had referenced. At first, the area appeared to be quiet and still.

“Maybe you’re just imagining things, Lidelle!” Amitie chattered.

Just as Amitie said that, a person leaped out of the bushes and lunged towards Amitie. The person turned out to be Draco Centauros, who had Amitie pinned down to the ground.

“Rawr, I’m too pretty to just be some silly girl’s imagination!”  
“Ahhhh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, just let me go with my friends!” Amitie yelled in panic.  
“Not after the attempted blow you made at my reputation!” Draco exclaimed. “How dare you try to compete with the best beauty queen, me, you pathetic wimp!!?!”

Draco began to ready a fire blast from her mouth. However, Raffina tackled Draco over and attempted to fight her in hand to hand combat.

“Hey, I’m the only one who gets to outdo Amitie!” Raffina cried out loudly as she swung her fist at Draco’s face.

Draco blocked her blow and blasted fire to get Raffina away. Lidelle helped Amitie to her feet. Raffina ran up to Draco and managed to roundhouse kick Draco in the torso. Draco fell to her side, but managed to get up quickly and Puyo chained while doing so. Suddenly, Raffina felt a wave of feeling hit her in the head with a sensation like a migraine. The sensation was strangely familiar to Raffina. She realized it was the same feeling Klug’s spells exuded! Draco hit her with another wave while she was thinking on the previous one for too long.

“Hey guys, it’s the same power this Klug had!” Raffina shouted as she set up a large chain.  
“Good job on finding that!” Amitie replied.

Amitie’s comment drew the furious Draco’s attention. To Amitie’s surprise, a  
line of fire appeared in front of her and Lidelle. The flames reflected in her bright, lively eyes. Raffina blocked the attack just as the fire began to lick Amitie’s shoe like a serpent teasing its prey of its power. Raffina launched her 11-chain at Draco. Draco was knocked over by Raffina’s magic, and Draco fell silent. Raffina’s group breathed a sigh of relief. Thanks to Raffina’s magic, they managed to evade the danger Draco’s fit had put them in. The quiet of nature surrounded them yet again, though the partially scorched earth remained as a reminder that danger would stalk them wherever they went on this quest.

Draco Centauros woke up a couple minutes after being defeated. She, like Klug, was unsure of how she ended up in this situation. Draco said the last thing she remembered was participating in a beauty pageant in Primp Town. After some probing from Raffina and Amitie, Draco eventually was able to describe the strange looking Puyo she used to fight Raffina. They were darkly colored and the nuisance appeared as a draining blue goop to her while generating it. Raffina decided to dub these Puyo “Wild Puyo,” as whoever could use the, appeared to go “wild” when compared to their normal personality. After seeing Klug and Draco, two very good and helpful people, turn cruel and confrontational after the influence of these Puyo kicked in, she worried that she would become monstrous the moment the Wild Puyo grew too close to her. Though, she wasn’t a particularly pleasant person as is, unlike Draco.

“Hey, are you okay Raffina?” Amitie asked with genuine concern. “You look awfully worried…”  
“I’m fine, it’s just I’m concerned these things could do quite a lot of harm if we can’t get them under control.” Raffina replied. “I am honestly not sure we can handle these things if they get any more powerful on their users…”  
“Maybe we could go t-tell Ms. Accord what we s-s-saw so she can h-help everyone..” Lidelle added.

The group agreed Lidelle’s idea was the best they could think of, so they guided Draco back to Primp Town and journeyed back to the school to describe their experience in the forest to Ms. Accord. Hopefully, she would be able to offer some advice. If not, then they’d have to be ready to punch danger in the face and clear out Wild Puyo like there was no tomorrow.


	3. The Mage Becomes Darker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh Schezo is a weirdo as per usual, Raffina has probably a breakdown, and Amitie is nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Help I cannot write regularly for the life of me and cannot finish this darned fiction at this terrible pace aldhladossksjsljsskkda

After explaining the situation with Draco to Ms. Accord, the group decided to head to the town square of Primp Town. This was because they had been hearing a rumor that Schezo Wegey was being particularly unpleasant. Raffina sighed loudly as they walked towards the dark mage, who was yelling at random passerby.

“Hey, why’d ya sigh, buddy?” Amitie asked. “Is something bugging you?”

Raffina paused for a moment to think through the question. Why did she sigh? Schezo was always a nuisance to deal with from what she heard from Arle, but there was a feeling of underlying frustration of some sort that drove Raffina to sigh. Perhaps it was the futility that seemed to persist in this matter. After all, every time they freed someone from the clutches of the Wild Puyo, someone else was winding up a Wild-Puyo-packed punch from right behind them. It all felt hopeless, but she at least had to try before giving up on this quest she had taken upon herself. She had to focus on the irritating task at hand, that being responding to Amitie then pounding Schezo into the ground as punishment for his disgusting behavior.

“I just really do NOT want to deal with Schezo after what I’ve heard from Arle,” Raffina answered after some thought.

“Oh, uh, that’s perfectly valid!” Amitie gushed. “Well, let’s go deal with him then!”

“I hope he doesn’t hurt us or anyone else,” Lidelle muttered.

“I sure do too, but we can totally stop him if he gets out of hand!” Amitie exclaimed.

Schezo stood right next to the fountain of the town square. He appeared angry and frustrated, just like presumably everyone who had to listen to him shout. He kept exclaiming that he was not a creeper and he will ravage the most sensitive area of the person who dares to dishonor his legacy as the dark mage. Raffina put her hands to her head after hearing Schezo bungle his words so badly. This was giving her serious secondhand embarrassment just to watch. Raffina figured Schezo would be wracked with guilt the moment he snapped out of this; although, she doubted he would ever function normally. Amitie walked up to Schezo, hoping she would be able to get him to stop yelling.

“Hey, buddy!” Amitie beamed.

“I am the Dark Mage, Schezo Wegey, excuse me!” Schezo shouted. “I am far more than just some ‘buddy’ or ‘friend’ to you!”

“Excuse me, but can you please stop being so mean to everyone?” Amitie asked in the most polite tone of voice she could possibly muster. “No one appears to be comfortable around you!”

“How can they NOT be comfortable around me!” Schezo yelled. “I shall spend my day giving immense pleasure to whoever wishes to be close to me to fix this so-called problem asserted by the likes of you!”

“I hate to interrupt your pathetic attempt to defend your ego, but you really need to work on your phrasing there dim spellcaster,” Raffina interjected. “Everyone’s gonna think you’re a terrifying monster if you keep saying how you want to spend your whole day, um, how did you phrase that? Oh yeah, ‘giving them pleasure if they wish to be close to you’...”

“I am NOT a MONSTER, and I am CERTAINLY NOT some ‘dim spellcaster!’ I am Schezo, the Dark Mage, and you will be destroyed terribly for your slanderous assertions after I closely engage with you!!!”

Schezo was infuriated. He drew his sword from the sheath and swung it at Raffina. Raffina managed to duck under it and low sweep Schezo to the legs. He had been knocked down, but he was far from defeated. Raffina learned something from her experiences with Klug and Draco and decided to put it to use. She started up her Puyo chain and called for Lidelle and Amitie to cover her until she could get it long enough to seriously harm Schezo. Schezo angrily swung his sword at Lidelle, but Amitie managed to just barely kick his sword away. Schezo, who was knocked off balance by the blow, groaned at the hit but stood back up. He charged towards Lidelle again, but Lidelle just barely managed to evade the sharp edge of the sword. Raffina finally had her whole chain set up. She used her next Puyo piece and set it off.

“Fireworks!” Raffina shouted as small neon blue sparks shot out from the space in front of her in a pattern similar to a firework.

The sparks from Raffina’s attack hit Schezo’s hands which caused him to drop the sword. Schezo yelled in pain from his hands being burnt by Raffina’s magic. He glared at her and lunged at her with a fist prepared to punch.

“Fairy Fire!” Amitie yelled as her magic manifested in dancing pink and purple flames that hit Schezo’s hands and shoulders. 

Schezo didn’t even fight with Puyo at this point, so the chains were immediately able to become magic spells with enough of them. Raffina had definitely gotten wiser as to long enough chains to activate magic, so it wasn’t as problematic as when she fought Klug.  
Schezo picked up on their use of magic, and he quickly set off a series of fast 2-chains. Raffina was immediately overwhelmed by her own loud insecurities and dreadful feelings. The Wild Puyo were with Schezo as well. The dizzying sensation drove Raffina to cover her face on the ground, completely unable to fight back. Lidelle hugged Raffina after seeing this, and Amitie quickly quashed Schezo’s ability to fight back with his magic with a counter chain of her own. Schezo fell to the ground, defeated.

Amitie went over to Raffina to comfort her. However, it was of no use. Raffina felt her chest heave with each breath, as if something were choking her. Her teeth grinded together as a way to cope with this ethereal pain from a place unknown. She was pathetic, absolutely worthless. She couldn’t fight a single person without having to lean on her rival, Amitie, or the shy weakling, Lidelle. She couldn’t do anything right, not even fight someone who didn’t use magic immediately like Schezo. Worthless, worthless, WORTHLESS! It’s all she ever was or ever will be! Why did she ever think she’d be able to handle this!? It was all pointless! Those guys would go back to their combative shenanigans within a week or two either way. Why did it matter what she did?

Amitie ran her fingers through Raffina’s hair and attempted to quietly console her.  
“It’s okay Raffina, you’re going to be okay…” Amitie whispered kindly to Raffina. “I know that magic is probably bothering you, but you’re gonna make it through! I know you can after all you’ve been through.”

Amitie’s kind words, however how inaccurate they felt, helped Raffina ward off the Wild Puyo effect. Her gentle touch was soothing, though she still felt discomfort from the invasion of her personal space. She stood up and combed her fingers through her hair to correct the loose ends Amitie messed up. She turned to Schezo, who was on the ground, and helped him up reluctantly. She asked him what he remembered up to this point. He shrugged and said that the last thing he could recall was talking to the Dark Prince about Arle with Arle. Raffina said to the group that they should probably relax at the school for a little while before going after the Dark Prince. Sunset was about to fall soon anyway. Amitie skipped while Raffina and Lidelle walked back to the school. They had bid their farewell to the Dark Mage (yes, Raffina finally remembered Schezo’s stupid title), but had to say hello to the Dark Prince or perhaps Arle once the vibrant hues of the brilliant sunset vanished from the vast sky.


	4. Carbuncle, Kendama, and Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raffina and Amitie journey to see Arle to ask about Schezo and Satan. However, a certain familiar face causes them trouble along their way. After talking with Arle, Raffina and Amitie have a new lead. They head back to the classroom to sleep for the night before attempting to pursue their lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And you all thought I probably abandoned this project. I didn't, I just got distracted by the other, like, 8 projects I have like a fool, a good majority of those being self indulgent stuff I am probably never gonna post. Whoops.

Sunlight crept into the classroom through the curtained windows. Raffina found herself lying next to Amitie on the floor of Ms. Accord’s classroom. Lidelle was resting on the floor as well, but she was farther away from Raffina than Amitie was. Raffina sat up from the rough wooden floor and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her objective to get to the bottom of this Puyo predicament was clear in her mind. She shook Amitie awake. She didn’t have time to waste. After all, if Raffina failed this quest, she would lose herself even further to her own insecurity. Amitie let out a short yawn before standing up. She seemed so energetic, even first thing in the morning. Raffina took around a minute to get up from the floor, but she managed alright. Raffina shook Lidelle. However, it appeared like Lidelle was a heavy sleeper and would take a lot to jerk awake.

“Amitie, let’s just go on our own,” Raffina suggested. “Lidelle isn’t going to wake up fast enough to help up. Plus, she hasn’t been of much help, either. We don’t need a passive burden like her on our side.”

“I see where you’re coming from, Raffina, but it seems mean to call Lidelle a burden,” Amitie disagreed. “You don’t need to be mean.”

“Fine, I know I never do anything right.. Let’s just get on with the search for the Dark Prince. I feel Arle is probably going to be a good place to start.”

“Yeah, that meanie always seems to follow Arle around. Let’s go find them! Any idea where Arle could be?”

“I remember her last being at Zigzag Peak, but that’s a long way from here.”

“Well then, let’s get going right now then! We have no time to waste!”

“Amitie, please lead the way. I am not too seemingly confident to admit that my sense of direction is abysmal.”

“Alrighty!” Amitie pointed and began to walk cheerfully forward.

Amitie grabbed Raffina’s hand and led her through the Woods of Nahe. Unlike Raffina, Amitie didn’t seem to care about getting twigs and leaves in her clothing, so Raffina had to deal with getting a little dirty while being pulled through the forest. The forest’s canopy cover and singing birds weren’t quite as relaxing when Raffina was getting dragged through bushes by Amitie. Raffina knew Amitie certainly was going to get to Zigzag Peak fast while Raffina was probably going to end up walking around in circles. She felt worthless because of her horrible sense of direction. She couldn’t even make it to the Ta-Toon-Da Castle without ending up back at the school during her quest for the cane. She should have just stayed asleep; Amitie could handle a quest on her own. However, she decided against voicing her feelings of worthlessness to Amitie. That would only get in the way.

Once they made it out of the thick forest, there was a large open area with a lake. They reached what Raffina thought was the Lake of Alicubi. When she didn’t get lost on the way, she enjoyed going swimming. The Ocean Prince supposedly had a temporary place to stay for the sake of being diplomatic or something, but no land dweller could really swim to the lake depths to find it. Amitie continued to drag Raffina’s arm along the edge of the lake. The late morning sunlight made Raffina’s body feel warm. She was definitely going to be sweating by the time the sun was straight up in the sky. She felt wearing a long sleeve shirt over a blouse was going to be a bad choice if they didn’t reach Arle’s hut before afternoon.

After more walking, they reached the Crystal Cave. They just had to take a walk through the winding and twisting caves as well as the bitterly eerie Cemetery of Osolo before reaching the stretch of land where Arle lived. Raffina groaned upon entering the cave.

“What’s wrong, Raffina?” Amitie asked. “Is something upsetting you?”

“That darned goody two shoes loves to study in that blasted cave,” Raffina stated. “I hope I don’t encounter him..”

“Wouldn’t he be at school now? Everyone else is in class! Come on, let’s go!”

“Oh, silly me, how could I not have thought of such an obvious thing! I must be quite the fool to forget something that simple!”

Amitie and Raffina fell silent after that last phrase. Neither of them had anything to say about that or anything else for that matter. Amitie traveled through the dim tunnels of the cave with no problems navigating. She seemed to know the cave like the back of her hand. Raffina was impressed that a ditzy and slow girl like Amitie could memorize an entire route like this. She wanted to give a compliment, but Amitie was probably going to laugh at her for nice words when she was seen as a nasty and worthless jerk.

Amitie led Raffina down another path, but Raffina heard the sounds of footsteps on the cave ground. Raffina pulled Amitie’s arm back and got Amitie’s tight grip off of her. She entered a fighting stance and circled Amitie while waiting for the possible threat to reveal itself.

“R-raffina?” Amitie stammered. “Wha-”

“Shut it, they are going to hear us if-” Raffina cut Amitie off harshly.

A tall boy with hair covering his face walked close enough to the two of them for Raffina to vaguely make out his silhouette. He appeared to be slender, and his stance seemed relaxed. His hand was down by his side. He was probably about to pull something off of a belt, like a weapon.

“Looks like I have someone to play kendama with, ehh?” The boy said with a jarringly deep voice. “I’ll have a lot of fun swinging this here tama around toward ya!”

He pulled out a toy that looked like a hammer with a ball attached to it via string. The boy threw the toy up into the air, forcefully hitting Amitie in the face with the ball. He giggled and caught it right after.

“Guess I gotta get you out of the way of my spacewalk myself!” The boy figured. “Let’s get to work!”

“I am not going to let some scrawny boy with a silly toy beat up my travelling companion!” Raffina shouted. “It is time for a good kicking for you!”

Raffina began to power chain in an effort to harass the boy. She guarded Amitie while she chained. She could make out Amitie having a nosebleed while she repeatedly blocked and kicked away both parts of the toy. The boy was impressively skilled with it, throwing it up and spiking the ball on the point on the top of the base. Raffina felt a crushing dread while she fought the boy’s short Puyo chains powering his physical attacks with her own short chains powering her kicks. Her overreliance on power chaining was the only reason she could counter him like this. Her head began to spin like the few times before. The feeling of insecurity began to overwhelm her as she felt Wild Puyo garbage dropping onto her board. She was tempted to fall to her knees at the painful waves of emotion hitting her, but Amitie wasn’t fast or dexterous as Raffina. Dexterity and speed were really important when blocking the skilled swings of the boy. 

She felt as though she couldn’t afford to succumb to her own insecurities, even if she was basically worthless on this quest. She thought more on her own weakness with each small wave of nuisance. Raffina began to cry from the overwhelming emotion caused by the boy’s attacks in the terrifying dark. She could hear herself sniffle while she tried to aim a Rainbow Deluxe at the boy’s groin. That was a cheap way to finish him off, but she was pathetically crying because of the overpowering Wild Puyo. She felt Amitie jump in the way of the attacks and hug her tightly. Raffina held Amitie while the uncomfortable tears slid down her face.

“Raffina, are you okay?!” Amitie exclaimed at the sound of Raffina crying. “If you’re not, I’ll be here for you, even through getting hit by him.”

“Amitie, get away from me!!” Raffina yelled through tears. “You’re just going to get hurt from my inadequacy! Get away!”

“No, I’ll keep you sa-” Amitie reassured.

“Spike Attack!” the boy yelled out while he thrust the tip of his toy into Amitie’s back. Sparks flew at his blow, which implied he had some level of magic channeled through the toy. The faint glow made his purple hair and collared shirt visible. Amitie yelped and fell to her knees from the pain.

“You’re going to p-pay for m-making Amitie f-fall!” Raffina growled through tears. “Rainbow Deluxe!”

With the dim glow of the boy’s previous attack, she had no problem aiming for that spot of pure pain. She slammed her foot into his groin with a powerful and magic boosted kick.

“EEEEEEKKKKK!!” the boy exclaimed before falling to his knees and blocking his groin. 

Raffina stood in the dark and let her tears silently flow. She could hear Amitie groaning from the pain. Raffina kneeled down and held Amitie in her arms.

“I’m sorry, Amitie..” Raffina apologized. “If I wasn’t crying weakly like that, you wouldn’t have gotten jabbed in the back.. It’s all my fault..”

“No, n-no, y-you were really helpful..” Amitie stuttered. “I-if anything, I shoulda done more.. I m-mean, my awareness g-got messed up from bein h-hit in the head, but I shoulda fought through that! Th-thanks for blocking him..”

“Oh, uh, n-no problem..”

“I’M SO SORRY AMITIE!” The boy yelled while hugging Amitie from behind while she was still in Raffina’s embrace. “I got way too caught up in showing my kendama all out of nowhere, I swear it wasn’t under my control! I wouldn’t have hurt one of Ringo’s friends like that with my own will, I swear! I don’t want to get kicked there again because of that mess!”

“Ringo?” Amitie mumbled to herself. “Oh right, you’re Maguro. I didn’t really recognise your voice. Sorry about what Raffina had to do to snap you out of the Wild Puyo state.”

“Wild Puyo, eh? What are those? Sounds like a cool new rule to play with, but it sure doesn’t sound like it from what happened.”

“They make people all kooky by bringing out bad sides in their normal personalities!”

“Yes, and those who have to combat the Wild Puyo can end up becoming affected, especially if they are already emotionally vulnerable,” Raffina added. “Anyway, aren’t you from another dimension? How did you end up here?”

“I dunno, heh. I remember something vaguely about seeing a world in a void while floating around with everyone and this weird blob man. I remember seeing this girl in reddish armor glaring me down there too. Sounds silly, doesn’t it?”

“Hey, M-m-maguro, our w-world seems t-to be naturally silly…” Amitie chimed in. “H-hey, do you wanna come with us to Arle’s hut?”

“Sure, but your friend better not kick me again like that, yikes..”

“I will have you know I would not forgive myself for attacking without just cause,” Raffina expressed. “Come on, Amitie, let us resume our journey.”

Raffna wiped her tears away and let Amitie drag her along again. Amitie walked with Maguro’s arm in her grip as well as Raffina’s. She navigated the extremely dark section of the cave with Maguro reaffirming her directions. Raffina’s heart still felt heavy from the effect wearing off. Despite the tuna boy being from a completely nonmagical world, the negative effect of the Wild Puyo was even stronger with him than Schezo, who was supposedly a powerful dark mage. She could tell Amitie was still in pain. She dug through her pouch and pulled out a handkerchief. It had a few small tears from when she chewed it at being defeated, but it was otherwise fine. She used her arm that wasn’t being pulled along by Amitie to hand her the handkerchief.

“This is for your nose,” Raffina explained. “I saw it bleeding earlier. You can use this to cover it.”

“Isn’t this your favorite handkerchief?” Amitie questioned. “I don’t want to get it all dirty.”

“It is fine. I chew on it, so it isn’t like I try to keep it in good condition anyway. How do you know I prefer this one?”

“You always have it out while we Puyo battle in class, especially when you lose.”

“Don’t rub that in, please!”

“It looks like y’all are some good friends,” Maguro commented. “Kinda reminds me of Ris and Ringo. I’m always arguing with em about taking their science stuff too far, but I care bout em a lot.”

“Friends?” Raffina blurted in surprise. “Eh, whatever, let’s just get to the cave exit. I don’t want to bump into any spider webs.”

“Okie-dokie, Raffi!”

“Don’t call me that, Amitie. Pet names are childish between classmates.”

Amitie continued through the Crystal Cave. Raffina and Maguro admired the faintly glowing crystals scattered throughout the cave. Raffina knew there were crystals that glowed much brighter in other sections of the cave, but those weren’t on the path to the cemetery. Raffina felt a little more relaxed seeing the pretty crystals, but she worried about dealing with Hohow Bird or Yu and Rei on the way to Arle’s hut.

After some time walking in the dark, Raffina and her traveling companions were greeted by the warm afternoon sunlight in the Cemetery of Osolo. The walk through the unsettling graveyard was straightforward but uncomfortable. It was only about fifteen minutes of getting dragged by the arm for Raffina and Maguro to reach the beginning of Zigzag Peak. It was a tall and steep path made into an already tall and steep mountain with a castle at the top. It was surprising that Arle was able to live here when the aggressive Hohow Bird attacked passersby, and the high altitude even halfway up the path made breathing more difficult. Raffina pushed Amitie’s hand away. It was a straightforward path, so it was harder to get lost on that than to follow the clear path. Raffina stated that even a girl with such a poor sense of direction as herself couldn’t get lost here. They walked farther up the path until Amitie suddenly turned off the path. Raffina followed Amitie to the hut beside the path. Amitie cleared her throat and knocked on the door. Arle with her lovable yellow pet, Carbuncle, greeted Amitie and friends at the door.

“Hi Amitie, what brings you here?” Arle asked. “Isn’t it quite the walk from your town?”

“Schezo attacked me and Raffina, and he said the last thing he remembered was talking to you and the Dark Prince,” Amitie stated. “Maguro also got stuck here, probably with Ringo and the squirrel bear man, but we haven’t found them. We sorta just stumbled into Maguro on the way here.”

“I may be a terrible human being, but allow me to explain this more clearly,” Raffina interrupted. “We are having an issue with people Puyo battling with special garbage sent that can corrupt the personality, and we wanted to ask you about that since chaos seems to be your companion figuratively speaking.”

“Hey, you!” Arle yelled to Maguro to get his attention.

“Gu-gu!” Carbuncle said in sync.

“What’s up?” Maguro replied.

“Aren’t you one of Ringo’s friends?”

“Yep, I’d even say we’re totally best friends.”

“I got something for you, hold on!”

“Gugugu!” Carbuncle said.

Arle turned around and swung the door open farther. She went into her hut and yelled for someone. Arle came back to the entrance of her hut with a tight grip on the arm of a slim red headed girl in a sweater vest and skirt. She held an apple and had a clip in her hair that resembled a green Puyo. She seemed upset at Arle.

“Arle, don’t yell at me like that!” the girl yelled. “I’m already stressed as is without Mag-”

The girl paused upon locking eyes with Maguro. She pulled herself from Arle’s grip and tackle hugged Maguro. Maguro and the girl laughed on the floor while holding each other in a caring embrace.

“Ringo, I’m so happy to see ya!” Maguro gushed while under the girl. “For a sec, I thought I wasn’t gonna find you!”

“It is pleasant to reunite with you as well, Maguro,” Ringo cheerfully replied. “I had to fight Arle when she was being uncharacteristically cruel, but she was hospitable after I bested her.”

“That sounds like what happened with Klug, Draco Centauros, Schezo, and Maguro,” Raffina observed. “I know this is a baseless assertion, but I have a feeling that whatever brought you here also caused these Wild Puyo.”

“There appears to be some sort of dimensional anomaly if we ended up back here, I would certainly say,” Ringo added. “I also agree that Puyo related chaos causes the links between worlds to strengthen to the point where dimensional travel occurs.”

“Do you think whatever the thing was that you said tried to bury our school in Puyo caused this?” Maguro chimed in. “You said that thing could travel dimensions and stuff.”

“I doubt Ecolo caused this particular instance of chaos,” Ringo objected. “I vaguely recall Ecolo floating in a void with you and Ris in the same way we were. Did you see the girl in the armor too?”

“Girl in the armor?” Arle asked. “That sounds familiar, but I can’t remember anything.”

“Guuuuu?” Carbuncle said confused.

“Yeah, but I can barely remember anything..” Maguro answered. “Anyway, Ami and the pink and orange girl, didn’t ya have business with Arle?”

“How dare you call me that!” Raffina growled. “Couldn’t you be refined enough to have some decency to ask my name?!”

“Geez, I’m sorry-” Maguro apologized. “I just wanted to get ya on topic.”

“Right. Hey Arle, Amitie and I came to your hut to ask about what your last conversation with Schezo was like. I ask because that was the last thing Schezo remembers before the point in time where the Wild Puyo caused his personality to become more obscene to say.”

“Oh yeah, Schezo and I were yelling at Satan because of his demands to marry me, you know, as you do,” Arle described. “Schezo seemed to end up with way more accidental creeper lines when we were talking. I dunno though… my focus at that time was keeping a wedding ring from Puyo Hell off my finger.”

“Was the Dark Prince being meaner than usual?” Amitie asked.

“No, not really. He was the same nasty jerk as always. He didn’t seem more pushy, creepy, pathetic, or scheming than normal. I would imagine it’s better to talk to the people who were suddenly dragged back to Primp than the person who’s been stuck here for a good long while.”

“You mean Ringo?” Amitie asked. “Okie-dokie! So have you seen anyone acting completely different than normal, or significantly worse than normal?”

“No, aside from what I have been informed about

Maguro,” Ringo replied before finally getting off of Maguro. “I do happen to be familiar with a dimensional traveler by the name of Ecolo that always enjoyed stalking me and ruining my day. I am surprised that they haven’t managed to bother me or Arle yet.”

“Wow, this was of no help,” Raffina commented. “We walked all this way and had to fight Maguro just to get no information that was useful!? What a waste of time, and it wasn’t even fun!”

“Raffina, you don’t need to be mean!” Amitie argued. “Come on, it’s not everyone’s fault for having no clue about this! Guys, do you have any clue where we should look for information next?”

“Despite Ecolo getting dragged in here just like us from what I can tell, they may be able to offer help or insight as a dimensional traveler,” Ringo answered. “I wish my array of knowledge was of assistance, but chaos in the dimensional folds is not a subject I specialize in, unlike trigonometry, probability, and physics.”

“Well, Raffina, should we go look for this Ecolo fellow?” Amitie asked. “He might be of help.”

“I suppose it is the only lead we have, however unhelpful it is,” Raffina said. “First, we need to head back. It’s early afternoon now, but the sun will likely set by the time we get back to the school. I don’t want to sleep in the raggedy hut of an otherworldly visitor who can’t leave, so let us make our way back to the magic school.”

“Alrighty, Raffi!”

“Didn’t I tell you not to call me that already?”

“Oh, heh, sorry…”

Raffina sighed at her classmate’s airheadedness. Amitie grabbed her hand and dragged her all the way back on the route they took before. The sun crept across the bright blue sky until the color faded to reds and oranges. Raffina yawned when she reached the school. She was tired from walking all day and getting next to nothing productive done. Raffina slid the gate open under the sunset light when they arrived at the school together. Raffina pulled a blanket out from her backpack in the classroom. She lay down on the blanket and folded it over her body. Sleeping in long sleeves was not a good idea, but she didn’t want to take off clothes when sleeping in the same room as Amitie. Night time was a dangerous time to traverse the Primp landscape, especially with the Wild Puyo nonsense. Raffina closed her eyes while Amitie dimmed the classroom lights. Amitie pulled Raffina’s blanket over her.

“Good night, Raffina,” Amitie said. “Sleep tight, see you in the morning.”

“Amitie, get your own blanket,” Raffina said while pulling her blanket back.

“I didn’t think to bring one.”

“Then, that is your mistake to live with. Go to bed.”

Amitie fell asleep within five minutes, which seemed impressive to Raffina. Raffina sighed in relief at the sound of Amitie’s quiet snoring. Raffina nestled herself farther into the blanket. Amitie subconsciously scooted towards Raffina. She felt Amitie’s arm over her shoulder. She reluctantly decided not to wake Amitie up to get her off. Raffina yawned and shut her eyes. She slept through the night with her friend by her side.


End file.
